Charm
by CarpeDiemEveryday
Summary: Relying on lucky charms is just going to get you hurt someday. Well, that's what Drew believes, anyway; May's not so sure. As Johto's contests change, will May change too?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Just doing this out of habit, but, yeah, I don't own the Pokemon franchise. Sad, I know.**

* * *

**Charm**

* * *

"Quick, Cacturne, use Poison Sting!"

"Dodge them, Glaceon!" May shouted as the pokemon charged up a string of purple thorns.

The ice pokemon leapt to the side, but both coordinator and pokemon had hesitated for a fraction of a second too long. May flinched as the needles embedded themselves in Glaceon's right flank, the thuds accompanied by the telltale sounds of May's point gauge dropping. The pokemon's leg shook, and she staggered, almost about to collapse. May's eyes flicked frantically from her pokemon to the scoreboard. Only seven seconds left, and he had just enough points...

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!" she called desperately, but it was too late. Glaceon's back arched suddenly, and she toppled over, leg jittering with sudden spasms. May stared, horrified, at her pokemon, barely conscious of the beeping as her remaining points dropped to zero.

"Glaceon is unable to battle," the announcer declared. "Cacturne wins!"

On the other side of the arena, May could hear Harley cheering. He would probably start jeering next, but May didn't care. All she knew was that her pokemon was still lying on the ground, leg still jerking about unnaturally. She ran over to Glaceon, paling as she saw at least half a dozen stings embedded in her pokemon's shoulder. More stings studded her chest and side, and one had shot into her cheek.

May's head began to pound, the sounds in the room fading as fear took over. Glaceon had almost always avoided getting stung in battle before, only picking up one or two stings at a time until now. An antidote had dissolved the stings and healed her poisoned pokemon before, but would it cover this? She couldn't be certain.

"Glaaaaa…" A piteous moan escaped the ice pokemon's muzzle, and May froze. Glaceon's eyes had a distant cast that sent fear coursing through the pit of her master's stomach. May stared at her pokemon and the wounds, but her brain was already on autopilot. She reached down and scooped up the glaceon, carefully cradling the injured pokemon so as to not hurt her further. Turning away from the arena, barely seeing Harley gloating, she ran toward the exit, blinking tears out of her eyes.

"It's going to be okay," she said as she ran down the hall as quickly as she could without jostling Glaceon, trying to soothe her pokemon yet choking on the words. "I'll get you out into the fresh air, and you'll be okay." May's eyes were full of tears, but she fought to keep them from falling onto her pokemon. "Everything's going to be okay."

May hurried down the hallway. The tears in her eyes were smudging everything into colored blurs, but that didn't matter; the Azalea Gym's exit was at the end of the corridor. As she ran past the coordinators' waiting room, half-sobbing out encouragement to her pokemon, a boy with green hair stepped outside. She did not notice this, nor that he watched, frowning, as she flew through the automatic doors and into the growing shadows of evening beyond them.

May stopped, panting slightly, beneath a flickering streetlamp just outside the gym doors. She knelt and lifted her pokemon down to the asphalt as gently as she could manage while so out of breath. Glaceon moaned again, this time even more quietly. If anything, this frightened May most of all, and she seized her yellow pack from around her waist, unzipping it hurriedly. She paled; her bag was a disorganized mess. Panic was filling her up, making her hands shake as she scrabbled around in her pack, searching for an antidote.

As she searched, Glaceon began to make strange, uneven panting noises, as if her throat was closing up on her. This was too much for May, and the tears fell fast and freely as she searched frantically, squinting, trying to find the antidote and save her pokemon, the one who had hatched for her, her baby, her friend, her dear friend who was gasping for breath on the ground in front of her, and the gasps were farther and farther apart...

Now sobbing, May upended her bag onto the ground, dumping everything out into a jumbled heap. Her fingers combed through the mess, spreading it out, but she could not find an antidote. She grabbed her pack and clawed around inside of it, searching through pockets, nooks, and crannies, but finding nothing that could help Glaceon. May's heart felt like it was trying to escape from her body as it seemed to pound against her ribcage. Panic and terror and fear and anguish paralyzed her, and she sat, legs splayed, staring at Glaceon, unable to move or do or say anything.

A shadow darker than the shades of early evening fell over the pair, and May's head jerked up. Her eyes widened, but Drew stepped past her to kneel with his back to her at Glaceon's side, a small bottle in his right hand. May could only stare as he sprayed the antidote over her pokemon's wounds, using the entire bottle. The stings began to dissolve, and the pokemon's breathing eased slightly, but suddenly stopped, still protruding about half an inch out of Glaceon's skin. Drew's hand clenched on the bottle, jamming down the trigger, but he had used the entire dose. He turned sharply to May.

"Recall her," he ordered, voice flat.

May stared at him. "Recall…?" she asked, still dazed.

Drew scowled. "As in, put her in her pokeball, like any normal idiot would have, and take her to the Pokemon Center."

"But, the stings, they're still -"

"I used an entire dose, but the poison's had too long to get into her bloodstream, and we really don't have time for this!" Drew was shouting at her now. "Put her in her pokeball and take her to the Center, May! Or do you want her to -"

"St-stop it!" May sobbed. She grabbed for Glaceon's pokeball, hands still shaking. "Gl-gl-glaceon, return!" The glaceon glowed, then disappeared into the pokeball. May clutched at the pokeball, but her eyes were drawn to the mess of her possessions strewn on the asphalt.

Drew noticed her pause. "I'll get this, just go!"

His words had done the trick. May pulled herself upright, then stumbled into a run towards the Center, Glaceon's pokeball clenched tightly in her hand.

* * *

The fluorescent lights made everything about the waiting room harsh. May tried looking at the wall in front of her, but it was painted a shade of white that would have brought tears to her eyes even if they hadn't already been trickling out. She glanced down at the floor, but it simply reflected the bars of light back at her. May turned her gaze to the door, but shuddered and turned back to the ground, burying her face in her hands. The sign over the intensive care unit still glowed a dull red, the distorted shape of a hypodermic needle wavering as she blinked.

May could feel her lungs trembling against her ribs as she sobbed as silently as she could. Nurse Joy had been expressionless as May had dashed into the lobby with tears running down her face and a pokeball in hand. She had only waited for May to choke out the word "poison" before whisking the capsule out of her hand and walking quickly to the emergency room, flanked by chansey. Now, she could only wait and hope.

A whirring of gears made her look up. Drew strode through the automatic doors and hurried toward her, carrying her pack in his arms. He sat down next to her on the bench, close enough to talk, yet far enough that he was still somewhat remote. It was the way, May supposed, that acquaintances sat.

"I asked, at the front desk," Drew began, panting slightly, and May noticed that his face shone with sweat. "They said you were here, so, I'm here." He raised a hand to wipe his face, still breathing hard.

"D-did you run all the way here?" May asked, hiccupping slightly.

Drew nodded. "I took too long, I was sorting your bag, all your stuff fell out." Drew's face, already ruddy from exertion, seemed to darken a shade. He pushed the yellow pack across the space between them. "Um, I think I put everything in the right place, except for this one thing, I, uh wasn't sure what it was or where you wanted it." May stared as he dug into a pocket, pulling out -

"Oh, my wishmaker!" May blinked in surprise as he held out the pendant.

"Is that what this thing is?" Drew asked, puzzled. "I thought it was some sort of, I dunno, dream-catcher thing."

May nodded, happy for anything to distract her from her anxiety. "Yeah, it kinda looks that way, doesn't it? But, no, it's this thing for, um, well, remember when the Millenium Comet was in the sky a couple years back?" Drew nodded. "Well, that was back when I was traveling with the others, so we went to this carnival to celebrate. There was this one stall where they were selling these, these wishmakers, so I bought one."

Drew rolled his eyes. "You would."

May scowled, but otherwise ignored his jibe. "The idea was, you'd make a wish on the comet every day it was in the sky, and you'd fold down a flap each day. It had to be the same wish, though."

"Why's this flap still up, then?" Drew asked, pointing at the one with seven stars.

May bit her lip. "Oh, um, well, a lot was going on, and I forgot. It's kind of hard to explain."

"Uh-huh." Drew snorted. "So, what did you wish for, anyway?" May flinched, and her eyes were inexplicably drawn to the ground. Drew blinked. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"Um, n-nothing," May murmured to the linoleum floor.

The boy sighed. "If it's nothing, then why's it such a big deal?" When no answer from May was forthcoming, he sighed. "Meh, whatever. So, d'you know if -"

"To win against you."

Silence swelled between them. May could feel Drew's gaze, but she couldn't bring herself to return it. There was something so wonderfully, beautifully… abstract, about the white linoleum, speckled with grey specks, so utilitarian, so simple, so postmodern, so easy to clean -

"What did you say?" The question made her flinch again. There was something almost strained in the sound of Drew's voice. Cautiously, she raised her face and turned it towards his. He was staring at her in utter bewilderment.

"I, um, I wished that I could win against you. In a contest." Drew's eyes widened, and she stared back at him, trying to make sense of his reaction.

"But… why would you wish that?" Drew asked, sounding as confused as he looked.

Now May was confused as well. "Why? What do you mean, why? You're, you're Drew! You win everything! You won all the time! I could never -"

"May, you beat me in the Kanto Grand Festival, do you realize how ridiculous you sound?" Drew demanded.

"Yes, but, just, I hadn't back then!" May retorted, voice raising in both volume and pitch. "And, well, I guess I just thought, well, it's like, good luck -"

"First of all, lower your voice," Drew hissed. "Don't you remember where we are?" May's cheeks flushed, and her eyes flicked toward the still-glowing sign above the emergency room doors before returning to Drew's face. She almost wished she hadn't; his expression was livid. "Secondly, relying on crap like that is just going to get you hurt someday. You've already proved you can do it, you can beat me, so why are you keeping that around?"

Drew stood abruptly, hands clenched into fists, glaring down at the brunette. His nostrils flared as he took several deep breaths, still staring at May, who stared back, perplexed and a little afraid. She had no idea what could possibly have set him off about such a simple, silly keepsake, but the damage had clearly been done. The boy's mouth tightened, but then his shoulders relaxed as he let his hand fall to his sides. He shook his head, a short, sharp motion that sent his green bangs falling across equally green eyes. He made no move to flick them aside, something which confused May even more.

"Whatever," he said, breaking the silence. May started and saw that Drew also looked surprised, perhaps at himself. He thrust his hands deep into his pockets, turning away from her. "I really don't have time to spend on idiots like you." With that, he walked out of the waiting room without sparing May so much as a second glance, leaving her alone once more.

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**Well, goodness, it's been a long time since I was here. The site layout is rather different, but such is life, I suppose. In any case, it's good to be back!  
**

**As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this fic, as well as any constructive criticism you would like to share, so feel free to review!  
**

**Until next time,  
**

**Carp  
**


	2. Chapter 2

May squinted through the dappled sunlight at a small wooden sign. "Hey, would you look at that? Only eight more miles to go!"

"Glaa!" her glaceon agreed, rubbing her neck against May's ankle. The coordinator couldn't help but smile at this. It had been a week since the poison scare, but Glaceon padded along quite easily beside her trainer. The Nurse Joy in Azalea had purged the poison from the ice pokemon with ease, though she had insisted on keeping her under observation for the night as per protocol. She sent May and Glaceon away the next day with a warning to treat poisons _right away_ to prevent a repeat incident. May had felt embarrassed, both for panicking in a dangerous situation and for… well.

She could feel her cheeks burn slightly as she thought back to the conversation in the waiting room. She still couldn't fathom what had upset him so much. Surely it wasn't just the fact that she had wanted to beat him. No, there had to be something else… May shook her head, trying to put thoughts of their encounter out of her mind. No matter how long she dwelled on the matter, she could never come up with a satisfactory answer. She realized the smile had slipped from her face and quickly hitched it back into place, looking down at her glaceon once more.

"How are you holding up?" she asked brightly. "If you're getting tired, just let me know. I think we're going to take a break once the trees thin out like they're supposed to, and then maybe some battle practice, how does that sound?" Glaceon let out an affirmative noise that made her trainer's smile a little more genuine. "Yeah, that's what I thought!"

They walked on for some time down the path, undisturbed by trainers or pokemon. May enjoyed the respite. The past few days' travel through Ilex Forest had not been nearly so peaceful - in part because of the oppressive darkness, and also because of the many trainers who were ordering their larger pokemon to ram themselves into the trees. This, she'd learned, was done in order to bring down pineco, who were in peak season. May, having traveled with Ash Ketchum, could understand their enthusiasm. Still, she had been sure to keep Blaziken out, both to see and to be seen by the rampaging trainers, and she had made a point of moving more quickly, covering the distance in two days when she might have taken three or four to admire the scenery. It had been a massive relief for both of them once the trees began to thin out after two days, allowing May to resume her normal pace.

Every day since then, May would wake up as early as possible, break camp, and continue north toward Goldenrod. She had taken to keeping at least one of her pokemon out with her as she walked from town to town, being careful not to overtire any of them. She told herself that it was to help her bond more with her pokemon, which it did, but the change also helped to keep her from missing traveling in a group, kept her from missing her friends. When the sun began to shine straight down, sending shafts of light through the tree branches, May would halt their progress for lunch, then took time to practice certain appeal moves with her team, ensuring that no one fell behind in training. After that, they would press onward for a few more hours, with May making sure to stop and set up camp before it was too dark to see.

It was a comfortable rhythm, May thought, squinting through the trees ahead. It kept the days from feeling too long. Beside her, Glaceon yawned widely. May glanced down, but her ice pokemon merely swished her tail and continued padding along. "Are you sure you don't need a break, Glaceon?" May asked. The pokemon shook her head, ears flapping. Her master smiled, amused. "How did you get to be so stubborn?" May cooed down at the glaceon.

"Oh, I'm sure her master had something to do with it." May stopped in her tracks, an involuntary squeak of alarm escaping her. She sensed Glaceon tensing at her right. Drew had appeared from behind a tree a few yards ahead of her, as if he had melted out of the woods. He raised his eyebrows. "Startled, I see. You should really pay better attention to your surroundings, May."

She was too surprised to know how to react, something which only added to Drew's amusement. He stepped over a protruding root and onto the path, moving towards her with calm confidence. Glaceon let out a warning growl. Drew paused, looking down at the small pokemon. May looked too and was surprised to see the glaceon's hackles raised; she stood as if ready for a fight. She glanced at Drew, who, though his eyebrows were still raised, looked rather apprehensive.

She sighed and knelt next to Glaceon. "It's okay," she murmured soothingly, stroking her pokemon's head. "He's okay, he just surprised me." Slowly, Glaceon's shoulders relaxed, and May turned to Drew. "It's fine."

Drew rolled his eyes. "Of course it is," he said, though his expression had relaxed as well. He moved closer, crouching beside Glaceon as well. "You really shouldn't overdo it," he murmured, reaching out to pet her head. Glaceon glanced at May, who nodded slightly. The pokemon stepped forward, pushing her head into Drew's hand. The boy smiled as he stroked the fur on the crown of her head. May watched, both amused and annoyed, as her rival proceeded to scratch behind the glaceon's ears, continuing to speak to her in a soft, friendly voice. "You were just injured, weren't you? If you're tired, you should rest. Nobody will think less of you, because you're such a good girl, yes? Yes, you are…"

May let this go on for a few more moments before clearing her throat. Glaceon immediately turned to her trainer, ears perked, alert. Drew scowled but pulled his hand away and straightened. May smiled slightly. "See? It's not just me who thinks you're tired. How about a rest?" Glaceon nodded, and May recalled her. Drew snorted as she got to her feet. "What?" May asked, exasperated.

"Nothing, nothing." He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. "So, you're heading to Goldenrod, I assume?" May nodded, and Drew gave a tight smile. "Good. I'll walk with you."

May stared at him. There was something about his expression and his tone that seemed too stiff. "Why?" she asked, suspicion bubbling in the back of her mind.

Drew scowled. "Do I need a reason?" When she continued to stare at him, he sighed. "Okay, yeah, there is something, but let's walk. It's another five miles to Goldenrod." He turned and started off down the path. After a moment's hesitation, May hurried after him.

Despite his initial sense of urgency, Drew remained quiet for a few minutes. They walked together up the path at a comfortable pace. May stole a few glances at him, wondering if she should speak first. Each time, the words died in her throat as she saw his expression. It was hard to read, between the patchy sunlight and the brevity of her glances, but she could tell that what he had to say was important. At last, when she felt ready to burst from the building tension, Drew cleared his throat.

"So, May, I'm assuming you haven't heard about the latest changes?" May shook her head, bewildered. He seemed to sense this, as he added, "To the contests, I mean." When May continued to shake her head, Drew sighed. "I figured as much, since you've probably been traveling this whole time." May understood "this whole time" to mean "since Glaceon was poisoned", but this only confused her further.

"Wait, how do you know anything about it, then?" she asked. "Haven't you been traveling 'this whole time' too?"

Drew shook his head. "Nope. I took Flygon, got there in a couple hours." He smirked and flicked his hair out of his eyes; May found the familiarity of the gesture oddly comforting. "It really does pay, having a flier on the team."

May rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you're incredible, everyone knows."

"Of course," Drew said, grinning. "But, anyways. So, yeah, they made an announcement a couple days after I got to Goldenrod, and it's got everyone shaken up." He paused, frowning.

"Even you?" May asked, surprised in spite of herself. She had the sense that she was going to understand Drew's strange expression soon enough.

"Yeah, even me." Drew's face had hardened. "Because they're complete idiots, you realize. The ones running the contests, I mean. It's not like I didn't know that, but this…"

May was feeling exasperated again. "Okay, seriously, spit it out, what's up?"

Drew stared at her. "They're resetting everything. Our ribbons don't count anymore."

May stopped walking, thunderstruck. Drew stopped as well, facing her. His eyes were full of understanding. "There's more, too."

"More? How can there be more?" May demanded, alarmed to hear her voice sounding half-strangled. "No, this is - this is -"

"I know," Drew said simply. He shoved a hand into his pocket, pulling out his ribbon case and opening it. "I only had one more to go."

May could only nod as she stared blankly at his case, at the empty indent waiting for a fifth ribbon. Her case was just the same, just missing one ribbon, just one away from entrance to the Johto Grand Festival. All that work, all that time spent trying - gone. Pointless. She felt like screaming, but resisted the impulse. For one thing, Drew was standing right in front of her. Still, a lump was forming in her throat.

Drew closed his ribbon case with a snap, thrusting it back into his pocket. "They aren't really saying why they have to reset, so there's a lot of theories," he continued, beginning to walk onward. May followed. "Some think they can't decide where to have the Festival, others feel like there was something about not enough contests being held, stuff like that." He slowed his pace so that May could catch up to him and glanced at her face. "You okay?" he asked, and May was surprised to hear a note of concern in his voice.

She swallowed, forcing the lump in her throat away for the time being. "Um, yeah, just… It's frustrating, y'know?"

Drew sighed. "Yeah. You could say that." He took a deep breath, then continued. "But, see, the thing is, I don't think those are it. The reasons, I mean. No, I think it's to do with the location thing."

May blinked. "What, the fact that we use local gyms instead of contest halls?"

"Yeah. See, I think there's been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes for a while, between Lillian Meridian and the gym leaders. It doesn't help that she's just waiting for that brother of hers, that Damian guy, to take over, so she's not super invested in any of this, she just wants to get back to Kanto, and I guess I don't blame her." Drew was talking quickly now, and his face was becoming flushed as he spoke. "Still, you'd think she'd try and keep things at least somewhat reasonable around here, just out of respect for us coordinators."

"Why, what's up?" May asked, concerned. Drew had said there was more to it than merely resetting the contests…

"Well, like I said, there's been some sort of, I dunno, power struggle, I guess you could call it, between Lillian and the leaders, and it seems, it seems like, um, like..." Drew was starting to pant; he had unconsciously upped his pace to a stride. May had to jog slightly to keep up. He glanced at her, realizing what had happened. "Urgh, sorry, I'm just really stressed about this."

He began to slow down, but May sped up. "It looks like there's a clearing up ahead," she called back to him, hurrying toward a particularly bright patch of sunlight further up the path.

"Yeah, there is, can you slow down, though?"

"Are you kidding? I'm starving! I'm setting up lunch for myself," May declared, breaking into a run towards the clearing. Unfortunately, she failed to notice a tree root rearing up from the path. Her foot hooked into it as she ran over it, sending her flying facefirst into the dirt with a muted thud. Wincing, she rolled over to see Drew hurrying toward her, his panting mingled with laughter.

"Are, heh, are you okay?" Drew asked, still laughing as he held out a hand to her.

May scowled. "Yeah, I'm fine, not bleeding. Still hungry, though." She pointedly ignored his outstretched hand as she stood and dusted herself off. Drew curtailed his laughter as they walked, blinking, into the grassy clearing. May sat down almost at once, unzipping her pack and fishing around for her food supply, listening for the telltale rustling noises of plastic wrappers. She couldn't help but let out a small sigh as she remembered how good the food had been back when she traveled with Brock. It had been warm, for one thing, she thought, staring mournfully at the protein bars she held. It was a choice between soy and… well, differently flavored soy.

"Is that seriously what you eat on the road?" May's head jerked upward. Drew was standing beside her, arms full of something red and white. "Move over."

May scooted out of the way, and Drew flung the red-and-white thing out expertly, allowing it to settle on the ground. He knelt and smoothed a couple folds out of the cloth before sitting down. May raised her eyebrows. "You carry a picnic blanket with you?"

"Why not?" Drew replied, lying back and staring at the sky above. "You seem to forget that I don't do that whole traveling-on-foot business." He rolled onto his side and grabbed his knapsack, pulling out, to May's astonishment, a large sandwich. "I'm already set up in Goldenrod, left my stuff in my room, so I can afford to carry what I like." He bit down, and May winced at the sound of fresh lettuce crunching.

Mouth full, Drew gestured to the space next to him on the blanket. May frowned, but crawled over to the blanket and sat down next to him while still leaving what she thought to be sufficient space for… rivals? Acquaintances? Her stomach growled, cutting her train of thought short. May cast another glance at Drew's sandwich and sighed inwardly. Her lunch had somehow become even less appetizing. "Leave it to you to do the impossible," she muttered, unwrapping her protein bar.

"Eh?" Drew asked through a mouthful of food. May blinked; she had always assumed Drew would eat with a little more dignity. She rolled her eyes, then deliberately took a delicate bite of her bar. It tasted like someone had meant it to be chocolate, but only had soybeans. As she carefully chewed her food, something about the situation struck her. Swallowing, she turned to Drew, who was about to take another bite out of his sandwich.

"Why are you here?" May asked. The words came out more bluntly than she had intended. Drew's eyes widened, and he put down the sandwich.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

May frowned. "You said you got to Goldenrod days ago. Why are you all the way out here, then?" She stared hard at Drew, who was staring at his sandwich. From what she could see, the hardened expression had returned to his face.

"I was getting to that, before this whole lunch divergence thing," Drew said, still not looking at her as he returned his sandwich to his knapsack. "Finish your food. I'll explain."

May nodded, already in the middle of swallowing another bite of food; her hunger was outweighing her dislike of soy. "You were talking about some sort of power struggle?" she offered.

"Yeah, that," Drew said. "There's been something up between Meridian and the leaders, and I don't know if it's because she's lazy or sick of Johto or what, but she's let them win. The announcement said she's left for Kanto. That Damian guy is going to come here at some point to take over for her."

"Why is that such a big deal, though?" May wondered. "I mean, he'll be new at this, but -"

"That's not why." Drew's voice was flat. "The gym leaders are going to be the ones in charge now, and they want to make changes."

May blinked. "Changes?"

Drew sighed. "Changes. You know how they've all got themes in their gyms, things that relate to their specialty? Like, snow in ice-type gyms, electrical stuff- you get it?" May nodded. "Yeah, well. They've decided that contests should be themed too."

May's eyes widened. "What, like, type-themed to go with their gyms? That's crazy, I don't have enough pokemon or enough variety, and to train them for appeals like that, and battling the same type, certain moves have advantages -"

"No, not that," Drew interrupted her, and she stared at him. He was facing her now, and she realized with a jolt that she understood his expression. It reflected her feelings back at her, the sense that the world had been tilted, the idea that everything she had learned was irrelevant, somehow. "If it were that easy, I wouldn't be here," he continued. "No, they each think they know what'll be interesting, what'll make for a good show, what'll be _cute_." He practically spat the last word.

May felt her eyebrows furrowing. She was losing patience. "Drew, just tell me why you're here!" she snapped.

"All right, all right," Drew said, and May was alarmed that he did not snap back at her. "The reason I'm here, well, it has to do with the contest in Goldenrod. Well, um, first of all, it's been pushed back a month." May's eyes widened; the Goldenrod contest had been scheduled to happen in two weeks. "And, more importantly, it's the first one with a gym leader's influence. So…" Drew seemed to be steeling himself to say something, and May began to feel apprehensive. "So…" Drew began again, "May, will you be my partner?"

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who's read, and an especial thanks to my delightful reviewers; I hope I answered your questions satisfactorily. If I didn't, well, it's probably a detail that'll be revealed in the fic proper, so hang in there!  
**

**If you have any comments, queries, critiques, or concerns, please feel free to share them! I love knowing what readers think about the story, and it might just help me improve it.  
**

**Until next time,  
**

**Carp  
**


	3. Chapter 3

"Your what?" May stared at him. Drew blinked, his face blank. He seemed to be just as astonished as she was at what he had said. She was suddenly very aware of how close they were sitting, just her and Drew. She could feel herself leaning back a little. Drew frowned, and May realized how she must look to him, like she was recoiling. Well, she was, wasn't she? At the same time, the very word seemed too harsh. You recoiled from things out of fear or disgust, or so she believed.

At the same moment, both coordinators seemed to grasp how awkward the protracted silence had become. Drew cleared his throat, looking pale. "Um… I didn't mean to blurt it out like that," he began. May felt her shoulders shrug, but it was as if another person had moved them. She didn't quite know what to think. Drew, seeing this, took it as a sign of encouragement and continued. "Okay, so what I was going to say, I think, was that Whitney's done some travelling and thinks that double battles are really…" He paused, making a face.

"Cute?" May guessed.

Drew nodded, the hint of a smile forming at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah. Cute. Well, you can see where this is going, right? I don't need to spell it out for you?" The last sentence was a loaded one, a challenge.

May rolled her eyes. "Two coordinators perform together. Pretty obvious, Drew."

"Yeah, well, just making sure my partner's not a complete idiot," he replied, smirking slightly.

May folded her arms. "Oh? Who said I'm your partner, hmm?"

The smirk disappeared. "What do you mean?" Drew asked.

"When did I agree to be your partner?" May demanded. "Pretty presumptuous there, _Drew_." She made a point of saying his name with a certain inflection that indicated nothing short of disdain, glaring at him. "Maybe I want to work with Solidad, or -"

"You can't."

"Sorry?"

"You _can't_ be her partner, May, and, yeah, maybe get those listening skills checked up on, while you're at it, hmm?"

"Oh, yeah, insulting me will totally make me want to work with you. Great idea, Drew! You're just full of them, aren't you, and they're all -"

"Will you let me explain? _Please_?" May halted her tirade, arrested by the single word. Drew was not the sort of person who asked for things, much less said _please_. She took a moment to actually look at the boy and was startled to see a pleading look in his eyes. She nodded.

"Not that arguing isn't fun, and all," Drew added, and May scowled. It was so like him to sneak in the last word. "Still, we do have bigger problems right now. The reason why, well, actually, there's two reasons." He held up two fingers to illustrate. May's scowl deepened; did he think she was a toddler? Drew noticed and, glancing between her glare and his fingers, actually cringed. "Oh, um, I talk with my hands. Sorry." May, feeling mollified, shook her head and waved at him to continue, sticking to gestures lest she say something to reignite their argument. Drew nodded. "So, reason number one is that you're a girl."

"So?" May asked, unable to stop herself.

Drew frowned, but May got the sense that someone other than herself was irritating him at that particular moment. "No, it's a good question. Remember what I said about cute? One of the rules is that you have to work with the opposite gender." Drew looked disgusted, a sentiment May shared. "Like, she has a sort of valid explanation for why," he went on, "but you get the sense that the primary reason is because she thinks it's _cute_." May was impressed; she had not realized the word could be said with such venom.

"What's her reason, then?" May ventured to ask.

Drew shook his head, waving the hand with two extended fingers. "No, no, one question at a time. Reason number two for why you can't partner with Solidad is, well." Drew looked, if possible, even more disgusted than he had before. "She's already got a partner."

"Who?" May asked, though just based on Drew's expression, she had a feeling she knew the answer.

Drew sighed. "Harley."

May paled. "No, you must be joking."

"I wish I was," Drew said with a sigh. "Yeah, she's taking one for the team, really. Harley's thrilled, by the way." May shot him a puzzled glance, and he elaborated. "Well, yeah, he's excited that he gets to work with a Top Coordinator, she'll probably help him win, but I meant more like, in general, he's just really psyched about the changes. Last time I saw him, he was going on about how he's hoping they'll do the Sinnoh thing and expect us to wear formal clothes, bleh." He made a face to illustrate his point. May giggled, and he glared at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," she said, still chuckling. "Just, like, what, were you that kid who hated getting dressed up?"

Drew's eyebrows creased. "When your parents drag you to social functions and you're, like, five, and they make you wear -" He stopped, shaking his head. "Yeah. Basically."

May bit her lip. She seemed to be on a roll with accidentally bringing up things that bothered Drew. "So, um, back to my other question," she said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "What's Whitney's, uh, justification, or whatever you want to call it, for all of this?"

For a moment, May thought Drew looked grateful. Then he shrugged, rolling his eyes, making her wonder if she had imagined it. "Oh, it's something about how coordinators should prove that they can work with each other, coordinate with each other, as it were. Her words, not mine," he added sourly. "According to her, it's more of a challenge for guys and girls to work together, but you already know what I think of that."

May grinned at him. "Total trubbish?"

"Pretty much," Drew agreed, smirking. "But, what must be done, and all that." He flicked his hair out of his eyes, still smirking. "And at least you have a partner who can make you look half-decent out on the stage."

May felt the grin slide off her face. "I still haven't agreed to that," she reminded him testily, feeling a shred of satisfaction as his smirk shifted to an annoyed frown. "Besides, you still haven't answered one of my questions."

Drew's brows knitted together. "What are you talking about? I answered everything you asked, and you asked a lot, May."

The brunette, however, was shaking her head. "Actually, you sort of missed the very first one." She examined her rival's face; he seemed genuinely confused. May sighed. "What I asked was, well, why are you here? Like, I mean, here specifically?" She pointed at the ground with both hands for emphasis.

Drew blinked. "Oh, um, yeah, guess I didn't say." He clasped his hands together, resting them on his knees and staring intently at his thumbs. May watched him, intrigued. It was almost as if Drew was embarrassed, though that would have, of course, been silly. "Well, like I said," he continued, speaking to his thumbs, "this all was announced a couple days after, uh, well, you know." He loosened a hand to gesture vaguely, but May knew what he meant. "I went to look for Solidad, but she'd partnered with Harley almost immediately, and this was even before they'd mentioned the thing about who you could pair with." He turned to look at May, his expression serious. "You owe her, by the way."

This startled her. "Me? Why?"

"Why? Because Harley was hoping to partner with you, that's why." May's eyes widened, and Drew nodded. "Yep, he was all set to make it seem like everyone else was partnered up, that way you'd pretty much have no choice but to work with him to compete. He told me over dinner a couple nights ago."

"Why -"

"He was with Solidad, I was technically eating with her!" Drew interjected, turning a little pink. When he saw May's nonplussed expression, his cheeks darkened. "Oh. Um, I guess that wasn't your question? Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine," May said, biting her lip to hide an amused smile. "No, it's just, why isn't that still his plan?"

"Oh, well, because Solidad asked him," Drew said. "He was saying something about how having a better chance of winning was worth more than, um, than screwing you over." He was still blushing, although, May supposed, it could have been residual from moments before. She didn't have enough experience with Drew's emotions to know things like that, she supposed. "His words, not mine," Drew added, clasping his hands and staring at them again.

"He said that in front of Solidad?" she asked, astonished.

"No, she was up getting more napkins or something, though I don't think it would have mattered," Drew said. "I think they both know why they're partnering, at any rate. So, yeah, like I said, thank her."

"I will," May said, nodding. There was a pause, in which she looked expectantly at Drew. He glanced at her, puzzled. "So, go on," she said. "You still haven't said why you're here."

"Oh, right, yeah," Drew muttered, returning his focus to his hands. "Well, I mean, Solidad wasn't an option, Harley… well, obviously I wasn't going to partner with him, plus he was taken. Then they announced the bit about the gender restriction trubbish, so options went down quite a bit." He sighed, and May got the sense that he was, once again, steeling himself to say something as he stared down at his interlocked fingers. "So, really, the only person to even consider asking was, well, you, really."

May was taken aback. She had not expected him to say that, not at all. Even though she had felt the conversation leading towards such a thing, even though it made sense in context, she still was genuinely stunned that Drew was actually… complimenting her, in a way. "R-really?" she squeaked, blushing at how ridiculous she sounded.

Drew whipped his head towards her, then clapped a hand to his neck. "Agh, cricked it," he muttered before focusing on her. He looked rather fierce. "May, this really shouldn't be news. Didn't I say I thought you were good last week? Or have you forgotten how you beat me that one time, hmm?"

"N-no, just, um, well, uh…" May trailed off, drawing her legs up to her chest. "I dunno," she mumbled to her knees.

Drew sighed as he rubbed his neck. "Well, whatever, let's just leave it at that. So, anyway," he continued, speaking quickly now, "I knew you'd be traveling on foot and had a pretty decent guess of what path you'd take, so I figured I'd wait for you." May lifted her head to look at him. At this point, it seemed that both of them were going to blush perpetually, though Drew was making a valiant effort to ignore his embarrassment. "So, yeah, I've been flying out here every day since then." He flicked his hair, every inch his normal, confident self if you ignored how his face was becoming positively luminescent.

"Every day?" May repeated, amazed.

"Yeah," Drew said, almost aggressively. "And, let me be the first to say, you take forever to get from one place to another. How many times did you get lost, May?"

"Not once!" she huffed. "And let me remind you, Drew, that I don't have a flying pokemon on my team, plus I had to practically bushwhack through Ilex Forest, in the dark, I might add!"

"Okay, okay, look, I'm sorry," Drew said hurriedly, turning his whole body towards her as he raised his hands. "Really."

May narrowed her eyes at him, but she could see that he meant what he said. Loosening her arms, she turned slightly towards him too. "It's fine," she said, attempting a bright smile. "Just, yeah."

"Yeah," he echoed, lowering his hands. "So, May," he began, his voice serious and modulate, his face calm. May could feel her own cheeks cooling as she nodded at him to continue. Drew adopted a serious expression before speaking once more.

"May Maple," he intoned, and she suppressed a snort at his exaggerated formality. "I would be honored, truly honored, if you would consent to partnering with me for this upcoming contest in the fair city of Goldenrod?" May quirked her eyebrows at him. Drew's seriousness melted away as he let out a short bark of laughter. "Not at you!" he hastened to point out.

"I know that," May replied, smiling. Then, adopting a similarly serious tone, she said, "Why, Master Drew, I would, of course, consider it the highest honor, the most delightful of delights, to accept your offer." She nodded primly before dropping all pretense and grinning, clenching her fists. "Let's crush the competition!"

Drew seemed to relax entirely for the first time that day. "Well, obviously," he replied, smirking. "So, if we're done here, let's pack up and head out." May obligingly rolled off the picnic blanket and grabbed the two corners nearest her. Drew took hold of the other two. They stood, bringing the corners together in the middle of the space they had occupied. "Oh, and May?" Drew added, his words drawing her eyes to his face. She was momentarily startled by how close they stood, at arm's length, really, the blanket between them. "Thank you," he said softly.

"Oh, um, it's no problem," May replied, bewildered. "You don't have to thank me."

Drew smiled slightly. "Yeah, but I can." He paused, then added, "I'll take it from here, thanks." His fingers brushed against hers as he took the blanket from her, folding it in half, then in thirds. She stood, watching as Drew finished folding the blanket and tucked it back into his knapsack before turning back to her. "Shall we go, then?" he asked.

"Oh, sure," May said, nodding. She moved toward the path but halted at the sound of Drew's laughter behind her. "What?" she demanded, turning back toward him.

"Haven't I said? I don't travel by foot, May," Drew said, his words laced with amusement. He raised his right hand. In it was an expanded pokeball. "Flygon, come on out!" he said, releasing his pokemon. The flygon made a great show of stretching its wings. "Oh, don't give me that," Drew said, rolling his eyes. "We're leaving much earlier than usual, in case you haven't noticed." He walked over to his pokemon, carrying his knapsack in one hand. Deftly, he strapped it to Flygon, who stood still, staring at May curiously. Finished, Drew stroked Flygon's nose, then turned to May. "Shall we?"

"Um," May began, staring apprehensively at the pokemon. "Are you sure he can carry us both? It, uh, it is a he, isn't it?"

Drew nodded. "Yes to both. Or, at least, it will be immediately obvious if he can't, in which case we _walk_, I suppose." He looked at the large flier, who was idly flapping his wings as he watched the pair converse. "Isn't that right, Flygon?"

"Flyyy."

"See? Nothing to worry about. Now, come on, get on."

"Um, where?" May asked nervously, looking from Drew to the flygon.

Drew smirked. "On his back, naturally. Haven't you flown on something Flygon's size before?" His expression softened when May shook her head. "Ah, okay. Well, what'll make you more comfortable?" He strode over to Flygon, climbing onto his back. "I've got some minor steering to do, but if you'd like, you can sit in front of me. I can hold onto you, if it'll make you feel better." He circled his arms around thin air to illustrate. "Or," he went on, "you can sit behind me and cling to me for dear life." May paled, and Drew, noticing, added hastily, "Not that you'd literally need to, Flygon's a smooth flier, just an expression, May. So, what'll it be? Shall you cling, or be clung to?"

May thought for a moment. "I'll sit in back," she decided, stepping closer to the pair.

"That's the spirit, May," Drew declared. "Just, try not to break my ribs or anything, okay?"

"Har har," May muttered, throwing a leg over the flygon and pulling herself astride him, sitting in front of the pokemon's haunches. Gingerly, she wrapped her arms around Drew's torso, leaving his arms free to steer. She noticed almost at once that sitting behind Drew gave her a second advantage: it blocked most of the view in front. So long as she stared straight ahead -

Drew flinched, his head bumping into her nose. "Agh, don't breathe down my neck," he scolded, turning just far enough to see her out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry, sorry," May mumbled, bending her head so that her nose was beneath Drew's collar.

He shrugged. "It's fine. Oh, and you may want to take off your bandana. Wind, and all."

"Good point," she said, removing an arm from around him and pulling off her bandana. She tucked it into her pack and made sure that all the compartments were zipped shut before returning her arm to Drew's waist. She tightened her grasp slightly. "Ready."

He chuckled, and his laughter made May's arms tingle. "Okay, let's go!" Flygon's wings spread, and May only had a moment to appreciate just how wide his wingspan was before he reared on his haunches and launched them into the sky.

* * *

**So, as it happens, today marks my third anniversary of being on this site. It's been a good three years, and you readers have contributed hugely to those good times. Thank you all.  
**

**So, thoughts?  
**

**Until next time,  
**

**Carp  
**


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